1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to chip removal devices for lathes and more particularly to a lathe having an arrangement for directly dropping chips into a container therebelow such that the formed chips will not block moving path of a saddle in a machining operation of the lathe.
2. Description of Related Art
A lathe is a machine for shaping an article of wood, metal, or the like by holding and turning it rapidly against the edge of a cutting tool. Chips formed during a machining operation will fall into a concave channel of a saddle. These accumulated chips can block the moving path of the saddle. Hence, a regular removal of the chips by a worker is required. However, this is a time consuming and labor-intensive process. Moreover, it is dangerous since the worker has to stretch out the hand into the channel by passing the sharp cutting tool during the chip removal process. Thus, the need for improvement exists.
There have been numerous suggestions in prior patents for removing chips from a lathe. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,539,827 discloses an apparatus and method for discharging chips from a lathe.